A BIRMINGHAM girl was left distraught after heartless vandals burned down her favourite swing.

But Laura Hunt, aged eight and from Northfield, has vowed to take on the bullies and campaign for the much-loved attraction in West Heath Park to be re-built.

Laura and her mum Helen were shocked when they discovered the swing burned to the ground over the Christmas holidays.

Helen, aged 37, a primary school teacher at St Dunstans school in Kings Heath, said: “My son goes down to the park all the time to play football and he came back one day and told us it had been burned down.

“I didn’t know it would be possible to do that but the vandals managed it and my daughter was devastated.

“It’s just so frustrating, I don’t know what is happening, to the youth in this country.”

Laura was equally upset, but insisted she would not rest until the swing was rebuilt.

She said: “I think the person who burned down the big swing in West Heath Park is very cruel.

“I want to know why they did that. They are just bullies who have ruined everybody else’s fun.”

Coun Reg Corns (Con, Northfield) said he was bitterly disappointed to hear of the arson attack.

He said it was all the more frustrating because councillors in Northfield and the neighbouring Kings Norton ward had campaigned long and hard for children’s play facilities.

“It beggars belief that someone would do this,” he said. “I hope that if they catch the culprits they are made to face local people and see the upset and devastation their selfish actions have caused.”

A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said the blaze had caused considerable damage to the swing and also the supporting mechanism. “It will require considerable expense to reinstate the facility. Resources are limited and sufficient funds have not yet been identified,” she said. “It is hoped that funding can be found.” She said officials were hoping CCTV footage would help them identify the arsonists.